Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 2,496 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 138,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,496 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Centene were worth $10,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Centene by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its position in Centene by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 12,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 1,543 shares during the period. Connectus Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Connectus Wealth LLC now owns 20,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 47,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in Centene during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,962,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $71.49 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.20. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.45 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $38.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.79% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.58.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.